


The greatest enemy

by NovaRedgrave



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Hanami Week, day 2: enemy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:20:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23638234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NovaRedgrave/pseuds/NovaRedgrave
Summary: No matter how hard you try, you can never escape yourself.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	The greatest enemy

**Author's Note:**

> Just a rushed, messy introspection on how our favorite red devil sees himself.

Dante has had many enemies over the years. The majority, of course, are demons. Comes with the territory of being a devil hunter, as well as a son of the infamous Sparda. Some of his enemies eventually became his friends. In fact Dante can count on one hand how many people he has genuinely close to him, that have never tried to kill him. 

His best friend of more than twenty years, Lady, had shot him twice in the head upon first meeting him. Trish put a sword through his chest and threw her motorcycle at him. Even his own family is not exempt from this as his first meeting with Nero ended up with two boots in his face and the rebellion through his chest. His own twin brother has been at war with him since the age of eighteen. Ten years of them both thinking the other dead and the first thing they do when reuniting? Fight. 

But even with all of these in place, none of them can truly be called his greatest enemy. 

No. Dante’s greatest enemy has always been himself. While he and Vergil fought constantly and violently, they still had years in between the times they battled. You can’t escape from yourself. Not when self-doubt is constantly creeping in the back of your skull only to rear its ugly head the minute you have a moment to breathe. 

So, what do you do when that happens? You keep yourself busy. On a quiet day at the office, you’ll usually be able to catch Dante playing pool, or fiddling with the jukebox in the corner to fill the place with noise. He might be sitting at his desk, feet propped up and nose in a dirty magazine. Or perhaps he’s just taking a nap on the couch, maybe he’s enjoying a fresh pizza or strawberry sundae. 

Most people would call that ‘being lazy’ but, those who’ve seen Dante at his worst. Seen him when he’s at the breaking point, they know better. They know just how much whiskey and rum (Not vodka though, says he had bad experiences before so he doesn’t touch the stuff anymore) he’ll down just to stop the bad thoughts. Those nights are never a good time for anyone.

‘You’re a freak.’ his mind tells him, “I know.” he replies to it.  
‘No one truly loves you’  
“But-”  
‘You’re friends had all wanted you dead’  
“Not anymore-”  
‘You’ll never fit in with them’  
“They accept me!-”  
‘You’re a monster’   
“...stop...”  
‘You LIED to your only family for years!’  
“He deserved better!”  
‘You’re own brother wanted you dead!’  
“He-”  
‘Your mother died looking for him after leaving you behind!’  
“I was-”  
‘AND YOU COULDN’T EVEN SAVE HIM’   
“Please….just….stop….” 

He drinks till he passes out. He wakes up the next day almost regretting that he did. Surrounding himself by his friends and family in good spirits always cheers him up, but they aren’t always there. Life gets in the way. So he learns to deal with it. He doesn’t want to bother everyone with his self-esteem issues. 

And so the cycle continues...


End file.
